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Scyner
Scyner (SIGH-ner) is the leader of the community of Shadows living beneath Tol Athian. When Asha first meets him, he introduces himself as the Shadraehin. Intent on enlisting the help of the palace’s Augurs, a bitter rivalry has emerged between him and the Northwarden, and he asks her to spy on Elocien from within the palace. Scyner is actually the secret identity of Jakarris si’Ithridian (jah-KARR-iss see-er-THID-ee-an), the last leader of the prewar Augurs before the revolution that deposed them. He was presumed to have died with the other Augurs, but was actually a driving force for the revolution, working as a saboteur to bring them down from the inside. He managed to survive, became a Shadow to disguise himself, and went into hiding under a new name. Appearance A seemingly modest man of middle years, Sycner is somewhat tall, with pale skin and long, dark hair. As a Shadow, he bears the trademark black veins sprawled across his face. History Rise to Power Not much is known about Jakarris’ early life, though his last name indicates he was born to a Minor Andrarran house, making him a noble of some kind. At some point he began to display Augur abilities and was inducted into their ranks, eventually rising to become their leader. New Loyalties Sometime during his rule, Nethgalla made contact with him. Informing him of Tal’Kamar’s plan to seal the rift in Deilannis and the inevitable downfall of the Augurs, she offered him the chance to secure his safety by working for her. Jakarris accepted, with the single goal of self-preservation in mind. Nethgalla required him to work together with the young Kevran and Elocien Andras to instigate the revolution. This included providing the pair with the tools required to establish Administration, as well as notarizing, then wiping their memories to prove they had not been tampered with. With the preparations complete, Jakarris used his influence to undermine the Augurs’ rule. He started by tampering with their visions, likely with the help of Nethgalla. Around this time, he made a plan to retrieve an amulet residing in Tol Shen's armoury, which would allow him to eventually survive Tal'Kamar's plan to close the rift in Deilannis. Tarav, the current leader of the Tol, did not break protocol and would not relinquish it to Jakarris, so he set his sights elsewhere. He contacted Iriana Traeleth, the Augurs' Scribe at the time, in order to reach Lyrus Dain, a sig'nari from Tol Shen and Traeleth's secret lover. He provided them with information about the revolution and indicated which visions could be trusted (he also informed Dain that Traeleth would not survive). This would allow Dain to make sense of the Augur's predictions, gain political clout, and maneuver himself into a leadership position if Tarav died. If the plan worked, Dain agreed to give Jakarris the amulet in exchange for his help. The Revolution As the public began to lose faith in the Augurs, Jakarris prepared to strike. Suggesting that their powers were failing, Jakarris suggested they temporarily go into hiding to discover the source of the issue. While the other twelve Augurs were distracted and concerned with the problem at hand, he killed them all. Around the same time, the Andras brothers successfully defeated the remaining Gifted and established a new system of government. Meanwhile, Jakarris' plan for Dain did work, but did not fully come to fruition. Tarav was assassinated and replaced by Dain, but the new leader of Tol Shen did not make good on his promise to give the Augur amulet. Frustrated, Jakarris began to plan another scheme to eventually claim it. Before leaving the capital, he gathered three trusted Gifted that he know would survive the revolution. Trusting them with the knowledge of dangers that would one day face Andarra, he split his memories into three pieces and transferred them over: * Knowledge of the Boundary — This went to Taeris Sarr. * Knowledge of the Darklands — This went to Thell Taranor. * Knowledge of Andarra's enemies — This went to Nihim. He expected them to use this knowledge to warn others and prepare Andarra's defences, but they used it to create the abominable sha'teth instead. Going Undercover Aware from the Augurs' visions that Elocien's son, Prince Torin, would be Gifted and eventually become Northwarden, he turned himself into a Shadow to avoid the possibility of falling under Torin's future Oathstone control abilities. It did not affect him in any other way because, as an Augur, he did not need to tap a Reserve in order to wield Essence. He established a base near the Cyrarium underneath Tol Athian, using his Augur abilities to create a place where only Andarra’s persecuted Shadows could safely form a community. He was admired by the refugees and respectfully recognized with the title of Shadreahin. Unknown to them, his true goal was to keep them safe so they could power the Siphon. He used his influence to plant agents in the Tol and palace to spy on Andarra’s leadership. At some point, he became aware of the Northwarden’s private use of Augurs to predict the future. Believing he could put them to better use, he began to threaten and blackmail Elocien into handing them over. The Northwarden continually refused, so Scyner’s threats began to escalate, culminating in an incident where an entire garrison of Administrators were butchered by his henchmen — their corpses displayed as a warning. Activities A Proposition Asha first meets Scyner when Jin takes her to the community of Shadows living underneath Tol Athian. He is not present to see the resident sha’teth kill the young man, but believes Asha’s account of events. He asks Asha to use her position inside Ilin Illan to spy on the Northwarden, describing the injustices the Shadows have faced at the hands of Administration. Asha reluctantly agrees, and returns to the palace to begin spying. Escalation After many weeks of waiting for a report, Scyner grows impatient and suspects Asha may have defected to Elocien's side. In an attempt to exact information, he sends her several increasingly urgent messages demanding an update. After continued silence, he sends two of his henchmen to personally threaten her. He is unaware that his men, feeling impatient, decide to lock her up and threaten to torture her until she shares what they want to know. Asha escapes, injuring her captors in the process, and the men return to Scyner in shame. Furious with their heavy-handed approach, he executes them both and sends their heads in a package to Asha with a note of apology. Asha eventually calls upon the Shadreahin to make a deal, hoping to enlist a small army of Shadows for Ilin Illan’s defence. To his surprise, she means the true Shadreahin and, at her request, he leaves the two to negotiate a deal. Later, as the the Blind approach, Scyner leaves his abode and visits the palace, intending to make a last-ditch effort to recruit the Augurs before the siege. Upon finding the group, Kol recognizes Scyner from a Vision of his death and draws a sword to defend himself. Irked by the threat, Scyner easily impales the boy with his own blade — killing him, and drawing the deep hatred of the other Augurs in the process. With his plan now foiled, he quickly escapes. More Machinations Following the defeat of the Blind army, he leads the Shadows as they depart their home beneath Tol Athian, relocating them to a hidden island close to the Boundary. He retains some contact with the community, but other business requires him to frequently leave his position of leadership. He reappears when Controlling the squad of assassins sent by Tol Shen's council to kill Wirr at the Tel'Rath estate. After dispatching the attackers, he speaks through his Controlled target and informs the Prince of the secret belongings inside his father's study. Believing Wirr's leadership to be the best for Andarra's defence, he hopes this will allow him to learn about his Oathstone control power and use it to run Administration. Afterwards, he finds and convinces Rohin (an Augur living in a small Andarran village) to overtake Tol Shen. He intends to use the boy for his second plan to retrieve the amulet from within Tol's armoury. His plan succeeds when Davian, Erran and Fessi subdue Rohin by using this amulet — he even gets revenge for Dain's betrayal when Rohin kills the Elder. The other Augurs eventually head for the Boundary, leaving Rohin in the hands of the Elders, and Scyner later goes to the Tol to kill the powerless boy and retrieve the amulet for himself. He returns to the island of Shadows in time to intercept Asha as she prepares to enter the Tributary. Erran, accompanying her, accuses him of murdering Kol in cold blood. Scyner does not deny the charge, but insists that Kol left him little choice after drawing his sword first. The two eventually put aside the grudge in order to help Asha complete her task, and depart without fighting. Afterwards, Scyner abandons the community of Shadows now that this goal is fulfilled. A New Objective After a year passes, Scyner uses a Trace of Caeden's essence, given to him by Nethgalla, to find the ummortal in a mountain outside of Alkathronen. Recovering from a fight with Alaris, Caeden is in a state of agonizing near-death, which Scyner saves him from by carrying his body back into the city. Believing Caeden to be weakened, Scyner attempts to shake him down for information but is quickly humbled when the immortal regains his his strength. At his stern request, Scyner provides him an update on proceedings in Ilin Illan, and relays a message from Nethgalla: That she is in the process of retrieving Licanius from Ilshan Gathdel Teth, and will soon give it to him. He also mentions his plan to use the amulet to survive Caeden's plan, though it only elicits hidden pity from the man (who knows that Nethgalla will likely kill Scyner to force the amulet on Caeden instead). Scyner offers Caeden an alliance with him, and by extension Nethgalla, but to his surprise the immortal refuses. Instead, Caeden demands to know the location of the Tributary housing Asha, and Scyner shares it with him by transferring his own memory of its location. Caeden eventually fully recovers, and asks Scyner to interrogate the sha'teth imprisoned in Tol Athian in exchange for information he will provide at a later date. Scyner agrees, and leaves for Ilin Illan through one of the Builders' gates. Defending Andarra When Wirr and Taeris venture below Tol Athian to see the interred sha'teth, they are surprised to see Scyner waiting for them. Scyner heavily criticizes Taeris for using his knowledge to create the evil beings, but eventually focuses his attention on interrogating them. He uses some power learned from Nethgalla to torture them, but is unable to reveal any useful information. He later learns of Ishelle's condition, and makes an offer to help her tune out the eletai swarm by studying the connection. Erran is present for the encounter, and refuses to trust his intentions until Scyner allows himself to be read by the young Augur. The experiment goes awry, forcing Ishelle into a pained frenzy, and it actually draws the attention of the eletai to Ilin Illan. Still intent on studying her, he is only dissuaded when a furious Erran punches him in the face. As he is partially responsible for the invasion, he helps Wirr marshal the citizens of Ilin Illan into Tol Athian for their safety and burns corpses to prevent casualties from turning into eletai. He tries to prioritize only Gifted lives to maximize Andarra's combat potential, but is overruled by Wirr. who refuses to voluntarily let any of the citizens die. Once the swarm has been dealt with, he uses his abilities to protect Wirr's newly-formed militia as they travel through one of Caeden's gates in the Cyrarium to find and fight Desriel's army. Landing in the Menaath Mountains, he helps Wirr search for the opposing forces, but is unable to detect them. When Ishelle eventually reveals that the Desrielites are using an invisibility Vessel to hide, he and Erran infiltrate the military camp together in order to disable it. At some point during the fighting, they are both caught and, presumed to be regular Gifted, are taken to a prison cell near the Pillars. Eager to escape and use the amulet on himself to survive Caeden's plan, he reveals to Erran his desperate plan to prove to the Gil'shar that he is an Augur, believing that it will result in being taken back to Desriel and surviving the conflict. To prevent Erran from interfering, Scyner tries to kill him but underestimates the boy's fighting ability and dies during the fight. The amulet is later taken from his corpse by Caeden as he escapes imprisonment in the exact same cell. When Asha emerges from the Tributary and meets with the Shadows residing on the island, she learns that they are concerned about his disappearance. Unable to tell them them the harsh truth about his identity and purpose, she allows them to continue believing that he was a good leader who cared for his people. Category:Characters Category:Augur Category:Shadow Category:Andarra